California in Brief | LOS ANGELES COUNTY

MTA backs off service-cut plan

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday backed off from a controversial proposal to trim service on nearly two dozen bus routes across the county to save money.

Acting on a motion by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Bernard C. Parks and Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, the board decided to cut service on several limited-stop routes and try to replace them with six new rapid bus lines.

The board, however, will allow the times between some buses to be increased slightly, and the MTA will have to find more than $12 million to pay for the moves.